Rules of Engagement
by Follow-ur-Shadow
Summary: Donna and Harvey navigate their relationship around his mother and her parents.
1. Chapter 1

**Rules of Engagement **

**Summary:** Donna and Harvey navigate their relationship around his mother and her parents.

**AN:** This was going to be a one-shot but then I had a prompt from krystalsteph (thanks for the inspiration!) so I thought I'd add another chapter with Jim, maybe even Donna's mother... cept for it annoys me not knowing her name. Maybe a chapter with all three? :

* * *

"You're teasing." Donna glances up from where she's resting in Harvey's lap, the warmth from the firelight flushing her cheeks as he slides his hand through her long hair.

"Hmmm?" His response is deliberately vague as he gazes down, his thumb skipping across to her collarbone, "doesn't sound like me."

Except it does.

He knows exactly what he's doing and edges his touch lower with a haphazard stroke.

"Harvey Reginald Specter-" she attempts to berate him but only puts half the effort in, "your mother is in the next room."

"Making us cocoa." He agrees, not an ounce of remorse in his expression. He'd offered to get up, even insisted on it but Lily had told him (and quite frankly to) that the day she needed help making cocoa was the day he'd better put her in a nursing home and there hadn't been much point arguing. He's coming to realize that between his mother and the woman lying in his arms, he's gone from NYC's best closer to Manhattan's easiest push-over and what's worse; he doesn't actually care he's coined the title. Instead he gets a little more brazen, tracing the v-line of Donna's pyjama top and biting back his amusement when she claps his fingers in a firm hold.

"You really want to start something, pretty boy?"

She hooks an eyebrow at him and the mischievous glint in her eyes sends his smugness backtracking like a dog with its tail in-between its legs. He's in trouble but steadies his compose, bringing her hand up to his mouth and skimming her knuckles with a kiss. "You started this thirteen years ago... I'm just the schmuck who turned up with a can whipped cream."

She smirks but affords him some of the credit. "You _did_ draw the diagram." He gives a half-hearted shrug and she smiles, feathering her touch against his stubble. She'd always wondered what he'd look with a beard and was surprised to find him nonplussed about shaving on their trip away. "You keep growing that out we might have to upgrade from pretty to handsome."

"Now who's teasing who?" He asks, mimicking her raised eyebrow and settling his hand against her shoulder but she's already winding out of his grasp, a playful gleam on her face as she pushes up, sitting on her knees beside him.

He doesn't like it and there's an edge of warning to his surrender. "_Donna_."

"Remember who started this..." she reminds him, her slender fingers hooking into a particularly sensitive spot at his side and he squirms with a throaty laugh.

"Donna," he expels a quick and amused breath, "_stop_."

She stills her attack, at the same time his mother's voice floats into the room.

"Anything that makes him laugh like that, you should keep doing."

A smile curves around Lily's lips as she places the tray she's holding on the table, three mugs of hot cocoa brimmed to the top with marshmallows wobbling unsteadily. It's a little overboard but she can't help compensating her guilt. She's had a tremulous relationship with her son through the years and when he'd suggested the visit she was, and still _is_, slightly nervous. His tension with Bobby aside, she wasn't sure bringing a stranger into their home was a good idea and it was only when Harvey told her Donna was 'the someone special' that she'd relented and forced down her reservations.

Now, she'll happily admit she was wrong.

The vibrant redhead has drawn out a side to her son she hasn't been privy to in years and she can only be grateful for the visit. Part of her wishes it had happened sooner but she's still cautious about how much she admits, following their lead in conversation as she takes her mug and sits back in the recliner. "Now, you were just about to tell me how the two of you met."

Donna shifts out of Harvey's hold, a sheepish look on her face as she sinks into the couch while he reaches for his drink. If she lets him tell the story she knows he'll paint the wrong picture and jumps in first with the same confidence she was wearing the night she introduced herself. "We worked in the DA's office together. He'd just won a high profile case and was starting to make name for himself and I wanted to help him do it, so I approached him looking for a job."

"You mean you had my secretary mysteriously reassigned and then moved to my desk." He counters, not in the least bit sorry she did it. It was the best damn thing that ever happened to him and they both know it, despite his ribbing.

"I'll give you fifty dollars right now if you can tell me what her name was." She challenges and to his credit he doesn't flinch, a name rolling straight off his tongue.

"Debbie."

Her mouth splits in a grin, her hand falling against his chest with a light slap as her gaze shifts back to Lily. "It was Tina and I'm telling you he couldn't have cared less after I redid his calendar."

He scoffs, downing too many marshmallows in one go and throwing a wayward hand over the back of the sofa. As much as his pride would like to deny the claim, it's exactly what happened.

"What he won't tell you," she adds, finding the hand hovering at her shoulder and grasping it gently, "is that he spent the entire week after that win wanting to pick up the phone and call you."

Lily tenses at the outspoken truth, expecting it to lead somewhere they'd all rather avoid but to her surprise Harvey doesn't react. He's steadied by the light sweep of Donna's thumb grazing his knuckles and a knot forms in Lily's throat when he finds her gaze with a nod. He's never been big on communicating, even before he learned of her affair, and the acknowledgment is a huge step leaving her in awe of the redhead. Even a little jealous that the woman can voice what needs to be said without disastrous consequences.

"I wish you had..." Lily directs the comment at her son, wiping the moisture welling behind her eyes, "but I understand why you didn't."

He gives Donna's hand an absent squeeze, subconsciously drawing strength from the gesture. Thirteen years ago, maybe even two, he would have vehemently denied giving a shit but he's learning to lean on his mistakes. He's wasted a lot of time being angry and if they're going to keep moving forward he needs to be honest about that along with everything else. "I shouldn't have waited so long to reach out."

It's barely a whisper, the cup in his hand lowering to weigh against his thigh, but to Lily it's like a weight lifting off and she takes a shaky breath. He might be his father's son but his stubbornness comes from her side of the family and the fact they're breaching those barriers is something she's wanted for years, she's just never known how before. "I'm afraid that comes from being a little too much like me."

Donna can feel the subtle shift behind her, the flex of muscles in warning, and she slips free of Harvey's grip reaching for her cocoa with a smile. She's learnt when to let things take their natural course and when to reign them in, her tone light as she sips on the sweet beverage. "And how long would you take to propose, if you were a fancy lawyer and money wasn't an issue?"

His mother's off the cuff laugh and Donna's slight nudge instantly makes him relax, his cocoa making its way to the table as his arms lightly settles against Donna's hips. He knows what she's doing and loves her for it but the question of getting married isn't a joke in his mind, though he plays along for the sake of it. "Money might be an issue if someone's been draining your credit card for years."

"_Please..._" Donna angles her head up at him with a smirk, "you think I don't know about the platinum gold account you have. When are you going to learn, I'm _Donna_."

The grin that forms over his lips is involuntary but he wears it without any shame. He could let slip he already has a ring and wipe the smug look off her face but it's the only secret he's been able to hide and he isn't ruining the surprise just to one up her. "Which is why I'm going to treat you to the best soda-can ring money can buy."

"Harvey Reginald Specter, you'll do no such thing." It's his mother who admonishes him with a smile, "and if you _don't_ marry this woman, I might just trade her in for you."

He rolls his eyes but there's there's a glimmer or seriousness behind the amusement. This is it for him. Bringing Donna home has only strengthened what he already knew and he slips his arm further around her waist not ashamed to show his mother that.

Lily recognizes the openness as another step forward, something that goes unspoken between them, and they don't need words this time. It's been clear since the second she met Donna that the woman isn't just the person her son is seeing; she's family, and her hands splay across her thighs beyond relieved that she and Harvey are starting to feel that way again too. "Well... I think it's about time I leave the young ones to it."

Donna's cheeks flush with warmth as Harvey tugs her back but his mother doesn't bat an eyelid and Donna relaxes, giving her an appreciative smile. "Goodnight, Lily."

"Night." Harvey adds, his gaze slipping to down to Donna and missing the knowing expression on his mother's face as she pads from the room. He's too distracted, completely smitten with the woman in his arms. "You're amazing, you know that?"

His breath tickles her ear and she leans up with a smirk. "I _did... but_ it never hurts to be reminded." Amusement laces her tone as she lifts further meeting his kiss.

He's always putting her on a pedestal but truth is she's just as lucky to have him. Even if it sometimes takes him time to open up when he does he shares everything, loyal to a fault, and that's where her safe place is. It's how she knows they're going to be okay and why she presses her fingertips lightly against his shoulder easing him back. "How about we go upstairs and finish what you started, pretty boy?"

"Donna Roberta Paulsen, in my childhood bedroom?" He teases, sliding his hand back through her hair but she quickly catches it and he doesn't argue when she moves pulling him up and leading the way. He'd follow her anywhere and has never been more sure of anything.

Except that the Tiffany piece he has stored away is _definitely_ a step above any soda-can ring.


	2. Chapter 2

"That look..." Harvey observes, closing his laptop and fixing his attention on Donna, "means I already want to say no but I'm going to feel guilty if I do. Out with it."

A loose smile tugs her mouth and she glances up from where she's seated opposite his desk. In the few months they've been together he's started reading her with frightening accuracy, making her wonder if he's always been doing it (and hiding the ability) or if he's genuinely just taking more notice now. Either way, his semi-amused gaze makes her blush and she tucks her hair back, swallowing a surprising amount of nerves. "My father's going to be in town this weekend."

It's an open ended sentence, rolling a sigh up through his suddenly pensive lips. "_Donna_... the man hates me."

"He doesn't _know_ you." She counters, trying to soften his hesitation but he's quick to dismiss any sugar coating.

"Well, he knows enough to have formed an opinion." His gaze dips back to his computer, his fingers winding under the lid and prising it up again. He thought there might be some room for negotiating but it's in all of their best interests to let sleeping dogs lie when it comes to her father.

"You were the one who went in swinging." She's gentle but firm with the reminder, watching his eyes flash defensively.

"To _protect_ you."

Her lungs draw in the weight of his adamacy and she expels a slow breath. She's not accusing him of having the wrong intentions but he could've handled the situation with a little more tact.

_Any, _tact.

"You threatened him without even talking to me about it."

He did and won't deny it, leaning back in his chair and drumming his fingers against the arm. In hindsight maybe he should have taken a different approach. It certainly would have made things easier now but back then he'd been plucky and firing on all four cylinders. He'd seen someone he cared for about to get hurt and he'd acted. To say he regrets approaching Jim would be stretching things. "He's your father. Whatever I'd said, you would've had a blind spot."

She fights to keep from voicing her frustration, for the simple reason that he might not be able to admit he was wrong but there's scope for it in his expression. Because at the end of the day this about family. He holds those morals in a high regard above everything else and she pulls herself up, taking a step and leaning on the edge of his desk. "_You_ had a blind spot for _me_ for twelve years."

The guilt he was expecting winds its way in and he chews the inside of his cheek, skimming her gaze. She would never force him to agree... because she doesn't have to. If it's important to her, it is to him, and _goddamn_ he's been leaning on a hell of a lot of mistakes recently. "Okay, I'll make us a reservation."

She was always expecting to win, but not easily, and she straightens with a hesitant look that he quickly shuts down. "_Donna_."

The message is received loud and clear, don't look a gift horse in the mouth, and she edges around to him softening her features. "Thank you."

He relaxes as she nears him, an involuntary reaction, and he reaches out grazing a light touch against her hand. "You don't need to thank me." He wished he could do more to show her he means it but they agreed 'not at work' and he rubs his thumb over her knuckles with smirk, "you _might_ need to step in if he tries to kill me."

She chuckles at the comment, her cheeks warming once again, this time with gratitude. "Just be the amazing man I fell in love with and he'll see exactly what I do."

She pulls free with a smile and he returns the gesture, even if he isn't convinced by her optimism. Still, he didn't become NYCs best closer by sitting on the sidelines. He doesn't lose, and he isn't going to this time.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

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An hour into dinner and the mood is tense, Harvey cutting through his steak as Donna keeps up the light conversation beside him. He can tell she's starting to get irritated by the lack of effort he and her father are putting in, something Jim obviously picks up on as well because he initiates the next comment- though his tone is more prickly than interested.

"So Harvey... I've been reading a lot about the firm in the papers recently.

Donna rolls her fork through her salad, tossing the leaves with a sigh. "Dad."

He shakes his head in defence, raising an eyebrow. "I'm merely pointing out that anyone can run a business into the ground, it's not just the '_common_' people who make mistakes."

It's a clear dig despite been directed openly and Harvey fights the instinct to retaliate. He knew it wouldn't be the smooth sailing dinner Donna had predicated, suspects she did as well, which is even more incentive to try and make peace. After everything she's been through with his family she deserves some respite from her own and he eyes Jim across the table, his voice even and steady. "We made some bad decisions, we're handling them."

An amused huff catches in the older man's chest, the deflection from 'I' to 'we' apparent but honestly, he wouldn't have expected any less and sarcasm paints his response. "That's very big of you to admit. Careful, wouldn't want you falling off that high horse."

Harvey's grip tightens around his cutlery and he bites the inside of his cheek reigning in what he'd like to shoot back. The man obviously has a chip on his shoulder but he takes the high road, or at least tries to, dipping his head back to his steak. "I don't think I'm better than you, Mr. Paulsen."

The unexpected attempt at politeness is not only fake, it's degrading, and Jim places down his fork, wiping his mouth with a napkin before clearing his throat. "Then tell me, what do you think Harvey? Or are you too scared to say it in case you put me offside."

Donna cringes at the outburst, feeling Harvey stiffen beside her but to his credit he doesn't retaliate and she jumps in first, before he changes his mind. "Dad, _stop_-"

"Donna it's okay... he's right." Harvey cuts her off, his irritation fuelled by her being placed in the middle. He's honest to god been trying but he isn't going to sit idly by and be attacked, especially not if it means she's forced to pick up the pieces. "I came to extend an olive branch, not throw around insults, but I didn't slink in with my tail between my legs." He assures, speaking to her but holding Jim's gaze, "if he wants to throw the gesture back in my face, I'm certainly not going to lose sleep over it."

"And what gesture would that be-" Jim snaps, waving an absent hand at their lavish surroundings, "booking a fancy restaurant so you can parade my daughter around, is that what you think remorse looks like."

Harvey almost loses it but manages to keep himself in check. He's not _goddamn_ trying to show any remorse and even if he had been considering it, he's all but done with the idea now. "I think it's better than being a stubborn, old-"

"Enough, _both_ of you." Donna breathes out sharply, collecting her hands on her thighs and swallowing the urge to let her composure slip. She isn't going to guilt them into finding a common ground. If they can't resolve things like civil adults then trying is a mistake and she lifts her gaze to her father first. "I am not being paraded around anywhere. I wouldn't be with someone who had that little respect for me, or _you..._" she defends but can feel Harvey's smug look even before it breaks his expression and she turns her heard sharply, "two words... they're called an apology, learn them."

She pushes up, stealing her purse from the table and Harvey straightens- annoyed but wearing it with caution. Picking a fight would be a mistake. One that would only serve him with a sharper tongue lashing so he lets her go, hoping she's just visiting the bathroom and not abandoning them entirely. She wouldn't, he doesn't think, but then again his temper might be quick to fire but hers is always more steeled and he reaches for his wine, muttering at Jim. "She get that from you?"

"Her mother." Jim picks up his knife and fork, more passive when it comes to his anger. Despite what his daughter thinks he's only looking out for her and chooses silence over making any further comments.

"That I actually believe." Harvey lifts his mouth from the drink, the quiet leading him to place it back down on the table. They're never going to get anywhere if one of them doesn't bend first and Donna's not so subtle dig rests heavily across his shoulders. He did start this, whether his intentions were honourable or not, and he tries to find an angle of compromise. "I'm not going to apologise for being proud-" he starts, fixing his position so there's no mistaking what he's about to say, "I've built a career out of going after what I want but this isn't about me, it's about Donna." It's the truth in more ways than one and he sticks to what he is willing to admit, circling his fingers around the stem of the glass and swallowing his pride. "If you want my honestly, I know she's too good for me... and I was afraid of that for years, scared I'd screw up any sort of relationship and hurt her."

"And yet, here we are." Jim counters, but his doubt is shadowed by the faintest hint of curiosity urging him to let the man continue.

"She's made me a better person." Harvey lets his hand fall from the stem, winding it back into his lap. Donna's helped him accept every single thing he's sure would've broken him otherwise and all he wants to do is be that better man for her. "You can believe me or not, but I didn't come here to rub anything in. You're her father, you love her... and I respect that."

It's the first time since they've met that Jim actually thinks he's being genuine, though he keeps his gratitude guarded, offering the man some tailored advice. "Being proud isn't a flaw Harvey, lacking humility is... so focus those efforts on being less arrogant and I may just start to believe you."

Surprising he isn't insulted by the comment. In fact, it's close to something his own father might have said once, and his mouth twists around a smirk. "How arrogant would it be to move us from Sauvignon to a single malt."

"Overdue." Jim encourages, finally ready to start looking beyond the lawyer to the _man_ sitting across from him. His reservations aren't going to be fixed by a fancy steak but his daughter has never shown herself to be a bad judge of character. That much drove him here, now it's up to Harvey to prove Donna right because never mind an olive branch.

Her mother's going to expect a goddamn tree.

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**AN:** I was supposed to be sorting my life out today but wrote this instead XD How excited am I about Harvey trying to impress Donna's father. I CAN'T EVEN. I want to be in a bubble that only lets Thursdays in hahaha.


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